New Images of The One Revealed as Design Development Continues

There has been much discussion in recent months about Mizrahi Developments' bold proposal for The One at the southwest corner of Yonge and Bloor. The daring 80-storey tower, if built as proposed, would become Canada's tallest building, rising 329.5 metres/1,080 feet above the busy intersection. Designed by Foster + Partners and Core Architects, the condo tower would feature eight storeys of retail at its base, with underground connections to the local PATH network and Yonge-Bloor subway station.

Updated skyline, image courtesy of Mizrahi Developments.

Originally featuring a dramatic diagrid exoskeleton, planning issues necessitated the evolution of the design of the tower. The updated composition of the building, first revealed at the Design Panel Review back in May, now features a hanger exoskeleton structure, with a rectilinear grid on all four facades braced by diagonal members at the corners. The shape of the floor plate was altered to accommodate the preservation of the historic facades at 774-776 Yonge Street, as well as to maintain the views from neighbouring condo towers.

View from Charles Street of The One, image courtesy of Mizrahi Developments.

In the most recent renderings, some changes can be noted near the base of the tower, as details of the design continue to be hashed out. An image of the street corner at Yonge and Bloor gives us a better sense of the ground level condition. The bottom levels of the building are now recessed from the exoskeleton structure, increasing the area of the sidewalk and public realm. The design of the lower storeys is also more defined, with what appears to be a semi-transparent screen used as cladding, interrupted by terraces and glazing on the fifth and eighth floors.

Street level view of The One at the corner of Yonge and Bloor, image courtesy of Mizrahi Developments.

The base now features cleaner lines, with a greater emphasis on the preserved historic facades of 774-776 Yonge Street and the distinctive exoskeleton.

The updated design points to a more sensitive treatment of the public realm and a more engaged relationship with the street. An image looking south on Yonge Street shows some preliminary landscaping, with the addition of benches and trees to animate the sidewalk. The sidewalks around the building are slated to be widened and redesigned to better accommodate the thousands of pedestrians that pass by daily.

An image of the west facade indicates more glazing added at the base of the building, and a lighter treatment of the glass cladding of the upper storeys, with less pronounced mullions and a smoother face.

View of The One looking east on Bloor Street, image courtesy of Mizrahi Developments.

A closer look at the tweaked facade shows thicker horizontal elements and more subtle vertical elements, in contrast to the mullion-heavy renderings previously released. The new sleek cladding emphasizes the prominence of the exoskeleton.

A closer look at the updated facade of The One, image courtesy of Mizrahi Developments.

Along with updates to the exterior of the building, we now have a first glimpse of the interior spaces. A preliminary rendering of the penthouse winter garden shows high ceilings and plenty of windows offering a sweeping view of the Toronto skyline.

A notable omission from the most recent batch of images is an updated view of the interior retail spaces. Initial renderings of the retail area featured the distinctive diagrid structure bordering a dramatic eight-storey atrium. With recent design changes and the replacement of the diagrid with the hanger design, it is unclear as to what degree the retail interiors will differ from their original proposal.

An older rendering of the retail spaces prior to the removal of the diagrid structure, image courtesy of Mizrahi Developments.

As designs for the tower continue to evolve, there is no mistaking that The One will become an iconic structure of the Toronto skyline, with its distinctive exoskeleton unique among the city's towers. Stay tuned for updates as details continue to emerge on this highly anticipated development.

If you want to see more of the original plans for The One, or read up on more of what is intended for the building, there are several links below that you can choose from. Our dataBase file includes all the original renderings, while the most recent stories provides the rest of the update images. The associated Forum thread link will take you to all of the discussion going on about this proposal. You can get in on the discussion there, or add your comment in the space provided on this page.